'Fringe is core': Rahul Gandhi's swipe at BJP as Prohpet row rages

India's Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed by two now-former spokespersons - Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.

The party sacked Jindal and suspended Sharma, and claimed their views as 'fringe elements'. Gandhi, though, remarked 'fringe is (the) BJP's core' as he shared an infographic citing derogatory comments about minority communities and women by BJP leaders.

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'Fringe' is BJP's core. pic.twitter.com/51iDkTIKLr

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 8, 2022

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The attached infographic quoted union minister Amit Shah calling Bangladeshi migrants 'termites' and his cabinet colleague Anurag Thakur as calling on 'traitors' to be shot - a controversial slogan that made headlines during citizenship law protests in Delhi and the assembly election.

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Other BJP leaders quoted in the infographic were Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath who said women were 'not capable of being left free or independent' and Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya for her equally controversial remark on Nathuram Godse, the man who killed Mahatma Gandhi.

India has drawn flak from over a dozen Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, and Qatar, over the remarks by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. India's missions in Kuwait and Qatar followed the Delhi line and attributed the remarks to 'fringe' elements.

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The Ministry of External Affairs has also had to weigh in, and has said the statements by some individuals do not represent that of the Indian government.

Some of countries now up in arms have demanded an apology from India, but Congress has argued against this, declaring the country should not apologise for the 'misdeeds' of BJP leaders.